Advice on Multi-use printer / cutter?

[Robert Lambie]

as an all in one machine, Roland have it covered. I believe that Roland also hold the patent on "all-in-one" print + cut machines. so you will not be finding "all-in-one" alternatives. but, there are other print and cut options. Mimaki printer bundled with vinyl cutter with optical eye for contour counting. HP value-jet with compatible cutter and so on…

There is other machines out there that appear to offer the on-board print and cut facilities. i say appear to because they are "re-branded" or "modified + re-branded" machines. a modified and re-branded machine would be the likes of the Uniform Cadet, Uniform Grenadier etc
(I run a Unifrom Grenadier) these machines are exactly the same as the Roland but modified slightly to run a more aggressive ink.

all machines have their pro’s and con’s… from here its finding which one will suit your business best.

[Steve Vallis]

quote Robert Lambie:

as an all in one machine, Roland have it covered. I believe that Roland also hold the patent on “all-in-one” print + cut machines. so you will not be finding “all-in-one” alternatives. but, there are other print and cut options. Mimaki printer bundled with vinyl cutter with optical eye for contour counting. HP value-jet with compatible cutter and so on…

There is other machines out there that appear to offer the on-board print and cut facilities. i say appear to because they are “re-branded” or “modified + re-branded” machines. a modified and re-branded machine would be the likes of the Uniform Cadet, Uniform Grenadier etc
(I run a Unifrom Grenadier) these machines are exactly the same as the Roland but modified slightly to run a more aggressive ink.

all machines have their pro’s and con’s… from here its finding which one will suit your business best.

Thanks for the quick reply Robert. I havent got a lot of space, 500 sq ft with a canon 60 pigment printer 3mtr bench for laminator.

I think I have just about enough room for 1 more machine. Are you happy with your Grenadier?

[TONKA]

Hi there I am new to the forums but the XC is a large machine and you may be better of with the Roland VP 540 which will do the same as the XC, a little slower but has all the same functions

[Steve Vallis]

quote TONKA:

Hi there I am new to the forums but the XC is a large machine and you may be better of with the Roland VP 540 which will do the same as the XC, a little slower but has all the same functions

Hi,

Is is suitable for car wraping and exterior use?

[Robert Lambie]

ive always been happy with our grenadier mate. but not a machine you would buy if you didnt intend running it most days of the week, as the ink can solidify if not used and create issues. the same machine but un-modified like the roland soljet pro can be idle far longer.
we have had our grenadier 4 years now, never had anything major happen to it other than wear and tear, which happens with any type of machine.
we considered trading it in against a uv flatbed this year but have decided to go against it. these machines pay themselves many times over each year. ours has been paid for outright, so i recon we will keep running it till it dies on us. i bet we get another couple of years from it!
we are still going ahead with the UV flatbed purchase though… undecided on which at this stage.

regardless to what machine you buy, regular maintenance, cleaning. being run properly and kept in as clean an environment as possible is the key to extending its life, i think.

[Chris Wool]

hi steve
as you are used to high quality output the soljet 111 is the closest printer, being a 6 colour machine.
the slightly cheaper 540 is 4 colour, still very very good thou.
the just anounced soljet3 has new printing patterns and faster quality production printing.
my soljet pro2 is 5 years old now running eco solmax inks and i love it.
as rob says a few more years in it yet.

around 4 years ago the roland inks left a lot to be desired, so a lot of roland machines were converted to stronger inks, then roland bought out the eco solmax inks which are suberb, which negated the need to convert, unless you had a perticular use.

chris

[Nick Minall]

I have a soljet111 540 and Roland have just put out the upgrade to make it print twice as quick with the same quality as before 😮 and it will print white now if you need it.

Only just had the upgrade looks very good so far.

Nick

[Steve Vallis]

quote Chris Wool:

hi steve
as you are used to high quality output the soljet 111 is the closest printer, being a 6 colour machine.
the slightly cheaper 540 is 4 colour, still very very good thou.
the just anounced soljet3 has new printing patterns and faster quality production printing.
my soljet pro2 is 5 years old now running eco solmax inks and i love it.
as rob says a few more years in it yet.

around 4 years ago the roland inks left a lot to be desired, so a lot of roland machines were converted to stronger inks, then roland bought out the eco solmax inks which are suberb, which negated the need to convert, unless you had a perticular use.

chris

Thanks for the info Chris

[TONKA]

Hi Steve the VP series is being used for vehicle wrapping but laminating
may be required as do most digital prints, we did as an experiment do the side panels and the back of our work van on a 1 year vinyl un-laminated and it was on there for two years